Showing 1 - 18 of 18
Artist: Von Hemmling
Another outgrowth of the ever-expanding Elephant 6 recording collective, the lo-fi, experimental pop of Von Hemmling was in fact the solo project of former Apples in Stereo bassist Jim McIntyre, whose debut seven-inch "My Country 'Tis of Thee" appeared in 1997. The one-sided 12-inch J.W. Kellogg followed in early 1999. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music... [+] Read More
Artist: John Brown
The Brakes was a late '70s power pop combo which released two singles and one full length album incongruously entitled Why You Kicka My Donkey. John Brown was the drummer in tis group. While it is difficult finding listeners that are familiar with this record, it is not impossible. In passing, a rocker from this period recalls that Paul... [+] Read More
Artist: Nikos Ksidhakis and Nikos Papazoglou
Gypsy music was brought into the musical limelight in 1978, when Ksidhakis and Papazoglou released their homage to the gypsy style, Ih Ekdhikisi tis Yiftias (The Revenge of Gypsydom), featuring Dhionisios Savvopoulous. In 1979, they followed up with Ta Dithen, which mined Greece's rich musical folk culture for sounds to complement their gypsy... [+] Read More
Artist: Dan Pickett
Reissuers have unearthed little information about Dan Pickett: He may have come from Alabama, he played a nice slide guitar in a Southeastern blues style, and he did one recording session for the Philadelphia-based Gotham label in 1949. That session produced five singles, all of which have now been compiled along with four previously unreleased... [+] Read More
Artist: Fred Koch
Fred Koch has had a steady career singing simple yet appealing folk songs for kids. In addition, Koch has contributed to a great variety of efforts for children -- as a composer, producer, performer, and teacher. His unembellished style has consistently appealed to Midwestern preschool children and their families.
Koch was born in South Haven,... [+] Read More
Artist: Los Straitjackets
Mixing the familiar sounds of Dick Dale, Duane Eddy and the Ventures, Los Straitjackets create their own version of energetic surf guitar twang complete with Mexican wrestling masks. Los Straitjackets began in the summer of 1988. Eddie Angel (guitar), L.J. "Jimmy" Lester (drums) and Danny Amis (guitar) formed an instrumental trio called The... [+] Read More
Artist: Baby Face Willette
Highly underrated as a soul-jazz organist due in large part to a scanty discography, Baby Face Willette remains a somewhat mysterious figure, a quiet, reserved man who disappeared from the jazz scene after the first half of the '60s. Born Roosevelt Willette on September 11, 1933 (there is some dispute as to whether he was born in New Orleans or... [+] Read More
Artist: Mac Wiseman
Famed for his clear and mellow tenor voice, Mac Wiseman recorded with many great bluegrass bands, including those of Molly O'Day, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and the Osborne Brothers; his command of traditional material made him much in demand by bluegrass and folk fans alike. Wiseman was born in Cremora, Virginia and grew up influenced by... [+] Read More
Artist: Cowboy Copas
A honky tonk singer popular in the late '40s, Cowboy Copas made something of a comeback in the early '60s before he died in the air crash that also killed Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. Born Lloyd Estel Copas on July 15, 1913, he dropped out of school at the age of 14 and began playing fiddle in several string bands around his Ohio home. On a... [+] Read More
Artist: Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie has enjoyed a long career that has seen her rise to stardom on the folk circuit and try her hand at country, rock, soundtrack themes, acting, activism, and children's television. For most listeners, she remains identified with the material she wrote and sang for Vanguard in the mid-'60s. Her songs that addressed the plight of... [+] Read More
Artist: High Numbers
For just a few months in 1964 (approximately July to October), the Who changed their name to the High Numbers, releasing one single under that billing before reverting to the more inventive and appropriate "the Who." The name change resulted from their association with Pete Meaden, a mod who briefly managed them in mid-1964 (Helmut Gorden was... [+] Read More
Artist: Love, Peace & Happiness
The '70s version of the Challengers III, the group that recorded in the early '60s for Harvey and Gwen Gordy-Fuqua's Tri-Phi label. Ann Bogan sang with both groups and replaced Gladys Horton in the Marvelettes between the two gigs. With Challengers III (aka the Challengers), Bogan sang with James Hutchinson and a female remembered only as... [+] Read More
Artist: Pete Meaden
Although Pete Meaden's involvement with the Who was short-lived, it was crucial to the group's transformation from one of innumerable London bands playing R&B, to one of the very top bands of the 1960s. Meaden managed the group for a few months in mid-1964 (in tandem with Helmut Gorden for much of that time), and wrote both sides of their debut... [+] Read More
Artist: Flatt & Scruggs
Probably the most famous bluegrass band of all time was Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. They made the genre famous in ways that not even Bill Monroe, who pretty much invented the sound, ever could. Because of a guitar player and vocalist from Tennessee named Lester Flatt and an extraordinary banjo player from North Carolina named... [+] Read More
Artist: Sandler & Young
The story of Sandler & Young would make a fantastic motion picture or, at the very least, a fascinating documentary. They remain one of the most overlooked and underappreciated acts from the '60s and '70s, yet they sold millions of records and have a very loyal and dedicated following, even two decades after they stopped performing together. ... [+] Read More
Artist: Louise Scruggs
Much as her husband, Earl Scruggs, revolutionized the banjo, Louise Scruggs transformed the behind-the-scenes business of country music. Nashville's first professional manager and booking agent, she was instrumental in establishing bluegrass as a viable commercial entity. Born Ann Louise Certain in Lebanon, TN, on February 15, 1927, as a child... [+] Read More
Artist: Amy Grant
Although Amy Grant cannot claim to have invented the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) style of gospel music, she did the most to popularize it in the 1970s and 1980s before successfully crossing over to pop music in the '80s and early '90s. When Grant came along as a teenager in the mid-'70s, "inspirational" (i.e., white) gospel music was a... [+] Read More
Artist: The Primitives
The Primitives were never, ever exactly a household name, even in Oxford, where they had a serious following as a club band -- and that's a reminder that some things in life and history, and even music, are just so unfair as to be unsettling. The Primitives never charted a record in England or America while a lot of lesser bands earned millions,... [+] Read More
